1. Metapack
  2. Shipping
  3. Integrations
  4. Integrating with Manhattan EPI

Using WMOS with Delivery Manager

The Manhattan EPI causes Metapack Delivery Manager Consignments to be created as Distribution Orders (DOs) in Manhattan. The individual parcels are generated as oLPNs (refer to the Introduction to the Manhattan EPI).

For the oLPNs to be integrated with Delivery Manager, each Ship Via needs to be correspond to one that has been configured for an external carrier. The Ship Vias are generated automatically from the Service Level and delivery details bridged in from the host. This in turn allows Delivery Manager to select the appropriate booking code when the Delivery Manager createAndAllocateConsignmentsWithBookingCode API call is invoked.

Note

Orders that have already been created in Metapack Delivery Manager can be imported into Manhattan in XML using its Post Message facility.

Creating, allocating and manifesting Consignments

Proceed as follows:

  1. Under the General tab of the particular DO, set the Ship Via in accordance with whether or not you are going to be performing a Rate Shop:

    • If you do not wish to perform a Rate Shop, set the Ship Via field to META:

      Not_Rate_Shopping.png

      Note

      META is the value that has been specifically set up by Manhattan for Metapack customers. It is automatically updated to the actual Ship Via following the allocation of each order.

    • If you do wish to perform a Rate Shop, set the above Ship Via field to None and select the required EPI service group under the Shipping tab:

      Yes_Rate_Shopping.png

      Note

      This 'service group' must correspond to a 'service group' in Metapack Delivery Manager.

      The rate shop will not actually allocate carriers or generate labels, but will instead return a list of the possible carrier options from within the selected EPI service group that are available to meet the customer delivery date. The list of carrier options is ordered with the cheapest first.

  2. Verify all the required fields under the Pickup/Delivery tab.

  3. Once you have ensured that all the required fields are set appropriately, run a Ship Wave to allocate inventory against the order, or else a Routing Wave to complete a Rate Shop.

    If you run a Routing Wave, then findDeliveryOptionsWithBookingCode is invoked in Metapack Delivery Manager to find the best carrier option with the appropriate booking code. If you wish to proceed to a Ship Wave, then confirm the required Ship Via and move to step 4.

    Note

    A Rate Shop is performed at DO level, and so only one record is created in the EPI_Consignments Table, even if the DO has multiple oLPNs.

  4. Run a Ship Wave to allocate the inventory. The results are confirmed in the Wave Details:

    Completed_Wave.png

  5. If you need to cancel the Ship Wave, go to Deallocating and deleting Consignments. Otherwise go to step 6.

  6. A 'pick to tote' (i.e. trolley) task now exists for the items to be picked. Once the items have been picked into the tote, select the Pack Station:

    Pack_Station.png

  7. Once you initiate the pack process, the items need to be scanned individually. For each item in the tote to be scanned and packed, you need to select the type and dimensions of the parcel:

    Packaging_Type.png

  8. Once you have confirmed the type and dimensions of the parcel for each item in the tote, the packing process is complete:

    olpn_created.png

  9. Once you have completed the oLPN (in the case of a single-oLPN DO), or the tote (in the case of a multi-oLPN DO), a Create and Allocate request is sent to Metapack with the appropriate booking code.

    This in turn invokes createAndAllocateConsignmentsWithBookingCode to create the Consignment in Metapack Delivery Manager, followed by createPaperworkForCarton to print the label/customs documentation for each oLPN.

    Note

    The Consignments are stored in the EPI_Consignments Table.

    If the Consignment is international and requires Customs documentation, then commercial invoices are generated.

    If it is a pickup Consignment, then createAndAllocateConsignmentsWithBookingCode (Return) is used instead of createAndAllocateConsignmentsWithBookingCode, to generate the return labels.

    To print the label(s) from the EPI, select “Print Shipping Label” from the WMOS UI for the selected oLPN(s). To print the commercial invoices, select “Print EPI Documents”.

    The API calls are confirmed in the EPI Transaction Log, which also lists the Ship Via that has been selected:

    Final_Ship_Via.png

  10. Run End of Day to mark the oLPNs as ready for manifesting, invoking markConsignmentsAsReadyToManifest in Delivery Manager.

  11. If you need to add a new carton to an existing order, then reselect the DO and select New oLPN. Then complete steps 3-8 to run another Ship Wave and Pack. Following packing, the call appendParcelsToConsignment is invoked in Metapack Delivery Manager to add the parcel to the corresponding Consignment, followed by createPaperworkForCarton to print the additional label.

  12. If you need to remove the Consignment, go to Deallocating and deleting Consignments. Otherwise go to step 13.

  13. Run Ship Confirm to invoke createManifest in Delivery Manager.

Deallocating and deleting Consignments

Proceed as follows:

  1. Locate the required LPN (License Plate Number) in Manhattan, e.g.

    LPN_Delete.png

    Caution

    If an oLPN is shown as Manifested in Manhattan terms, it is still only Ready to Manifest in Metapack terms.

  2. From the More menu at the bottom of the screen, select De-Manifest oLPN:

    LPN_De-Manifest.png

  3. This triggers deallocate in Metapack Delivery Manager. It also triggers deleteConsignment the case of a single-oLPN DO, or, in the case of a multi-oLPN DO, deleteParcelFromConsignmentWithCartonId.

    Caution

    If an oLPN is split during the de-manifesting, and a new oLPN is created, then both the ‘From’ and 'To' oLPNs will have to be manually manifested (by selecting ‘Weight Freight Manifest’ in the Manhattan UI). This will then invoke createAndAllocateConsignmentsWithBookingCode if the consignment is still open, or else appendParcelsToConsignment if it has been marked as Ready to Manifest.

  4. The deletions are confirmed in the EPI Transaction Log, e.g.

    Transaction_Log_2.png